This is the recipe for Homemade Turmeric Pasta dough, that I used in this Apricot and Chorizo Bolognese recipe. Turmeric is a spice that’s very popular in South Asian cuisine (which has medicinal properties too in fact!). It has a smoky, bitter flavour, so it’s used quite sparingly in recipes. It is what gives that characteristic colour to a lot of yellow curries as well.
Homemade pasta can seem a little daunting at first, but I assure you once you get your hands “dirty” with it and get the taste of true, unblemished homemade pasta, there’s no going back. It gets a lot easier with practice and if you happen to own a pasta machine, there’s really no excuse not to try it. 🙂
It’ll be a fun weekend project to do with your kids too! You can easily make naturally coloured pasta (how fun is that?) and also pasta with different flavours as well, like this Homemade Turmeric Pasta.
In this recipe, turmeric is used not only to give the pasta a gorgeous bright yellow colour, but also to infuse it with a slight smokiness and bitterness that goes really well with the sweet and smoky Apricot and Chorizo bolognese. You can actually see the beautiful flecks of turmeric powder in the dough too!
Apricot and Chorizo Bolognese with Homemade Turmeric Pasta
I used a pasta machine to make the fettuccine in this recipe. However, if you don’t own a pasta machine, you can still roll out the dough and cut the pasta by hand by following the instructions here.
Ingredients
Turmeric Pasta
- 4 oz all-purpose flour
- 4 oz semolina can be substituted with all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ tsp ground turmeric powder
- ⅛ cup 2 tbsp of olive oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- A few tbsp of water if required
- Excess flour or semolina for rolling out dough
Instructions
- Mix the flour, semolina, turmeric and salt together on a working bench or in a big bowl. Then create a nice well in the middle.
- Add the egg, yolks and oil into a separate bowl. Pour this into the well and start mixing it all in with the flour using a fork or your fingers. Once properly incorporated, add water (a little at a time) if the mix seems too dry.
- Once the mix comes together to form a somewhat cohesive dough, start kneading it for about 10 minutes until it's smooth and a little shiny.
- Cut the dough into two portions, and form two smooth dough balls and wrap them in plastic wrap and leave them to rest for at least 1 hour at room temperature. If they are not going to be used immediately, you can store them in the fridge. But return the dough to room temperature before rolling it out.
- You can roll it out using a pasta machine or a rolling pin.
- If using a pasta machine, flatten the dough to a circle using your hand before putting it through the machine. Put the dough through the pasta machine on the thickest setting a few times (folding it over each time), until the dough softens and the edges are fairly smooth (this is to knead the dough - about 3-4 times in my pasta machine).
- Once the dough is kneaded, increase the setting to 5 on your pasta machine (this will reduce the gap, so that you can roll out your pasta thinner. My machine goes from 0 to 9) and roll out your pasta thinner (but not too thin). Next cut pasta to a desired thickness - I usually use the fettuccine setting, but you can use a knife to cut your pasta thicker or thinner (I use a thicker setting for spaghetti).
- Hang the pasta to dry for a few minutes, after which it can be stored for up to a week.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and add a drizzle of oil. Cook the pasta in batches, for 1 ½ minutes - 2 minutes for each batch.
- Toss the cooked pasta in some olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
See those beautiful flecks of turmeric in the pasta?
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Hendi says
February 21, 2018 at 02:41Hi Dini, this recipe looks interesting,
anyway, can i substitute pasta with egg / ramen noodles for this? ”
Thanks
Dini says
February 22, 2018 at 10:00Hi Hendi!
Can I ask if you mean to make ramen noodles with this pasta dough recipe? or did you mean if you can boil ramen noodles in turmeric water?
Thank you.
Cheers,
Dini
Kim says
January 21, 2017 at 02:55Hi Dini, great post! I’m planning to make yellow pasta dough using turmeric but I’m worried about the taste. Is there a strong turmeric flavor or is it minimal? Thank you and keep up the posts!
Dini says
January 21, 2017 at 22:29Hi Kim!
The turmeric taste was very mild if at all! It adds a smokiness to the pasta, but doesn’t make it bitter 🙂 I’m really happy that you might be trying this recipe! Please let me know how they turn out and if you liked it too!
Thank you for visiting my blog 🙂
Suchitra says
January 17, 2016 at 16:32What pretty pasta! It is a visual treat!
kunstkitchen says
January 16, 2016 at 11:30Love any recipes with turmeric for inspiration. I use it rice. this looks beautiful.
Angie says
January 14, 2016 at 20:32One word. AWESOME!!
swayam says
January 14, 2016 at 03:49Love making pasta at home!! So so good..and just look at the color! Looks like sunshine <3
Jhuls says
January 9, 2016 at 11:41I don’t think my tummy encountered turmeric pasta before. Or maybe it has, but I didn’t notice? Anyway, this looks so beautifully made and I agree with you that when you tried making something you thought you can’t do, there’s no going back. Thank you for sharing this pretty pasta, Dini. Happy FF101! 🙂
Hilda says
January 8, 2016 at 20:52This recipe is one of the reasons I enjoy attending FF – to learn something new. I often make pasta, but this beautiful sunny yellow version intrigues me. Next time I’ll be doing it this way. Thanks for sharing.
Julie is Hostess At Heart says
January 8, 2016 at 15:16That’s some great looking pasta Dini! I make my own too, but adding tumeric is genius, and that chorizo bolognese looks amazing!!!! You need to change the name of your blog to the flavor whisperer!
Sonal says
January 8, 2016 at 14:11Wow Dini
Mind blowing absolutely!
Mr Fitz says
January 8, 2016 at 10:19Brilliant post.. simply brilliant
Suzanne says
January 4, 2016 at 13:33Love making homemade pasta, and really like the addition of tumeric, your bolognese looks awesome.